Dell to ship all laptops with greener LED displays

Continuing with its ongoing drive to become “the greenest technology company on the planet,” Dell has made a commitment to switch its entire laptop range to LED screens by 2010. LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are energy-efficient, easier to recycle and completely free of mercury.

The first milestone in this transition will come on December 15 of this year, when about two thirds of all Dell Latitude E-family notebooks will ship with LED backlights as a standard feature, along with select Precision notebooks. The next major goal after that is the end of 2009 where the company estimates 80% LED display usage.

While the move is largely being touted as an environmental push, the addition of LED screens also benefits customers. According to Dell, their 15-inch LED displays consume an average of 43 percent less power than current CCFL screens, even at the maximum brightness level, making a noticeable difference on battery life.